Centrifugal driving mechanism



June 9, 1936. F W 2,043,663

CENTRIFUGAL DRIVING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 10, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet l June 9,1936. A F, H WE 2,043,663

CENTRIFUGAL DRI VI NG MECHANI SM June 9, 1936. v A. F. HOWE 2,043,663

CENTRIFUGAL DRIVING MECHANISM I Filed Aug. 10, 1954 s sneets-sheet's Patented June 9, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to centrifugal driving mechanism, and has special reference to a driving mechanism for use in centrifugal driers whereby the conical distributing cone and the cooperating conical screen may be rotated at the same or selected different rates of speed.

Objects of the invention are to provide improved driving mechanism operable optionally to rotate the distributing cone and the cooperating screen of a centrifugal drier at different speed ratios; to provide means whereby the centrifugal drier may be optionally controlled and operated as a continuous drier through which the material passes continuously or as a batch drier in which the material is retained for a desired period of time while the machine 'is operating, as desired; to provide improved means for rotating the distributing cone and the screen of the centrifugal drier at the same speed and automatically and as an incident thereto closing the basket to retain the material in the space between the distributing cone and the screen to operate the drier as a batch drier; to provide improved means for opening the space between the distributing cone and the screen automatically and as an incident to a predetermined variationin the relative. speeds of rotation of the distributing cone and the screen; to provide a construction and arrangement whereby the foregoing operations may be effectively performed while the machine is operating and without the necessity of stopping the machine for such purposes; and to provide improved mechanism attaining'all of theobjects and advantages herein disclosed, reference being made to the annexed drawings, in which- Fig. 1 isa side elevation of the variable speed driving mechanism for rotating the screen of the centrifugal drier.

Fig. 2 is a view partly insection 0f the mechanism shownin Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view incontinuation of 2 showing the driving mechanism for the distributing cone and the screen 'of the -centrifugal drier 'whichis also shown in section.

Fig. '4 is an enlarged sectional view of the centrifugal drier mechanism.

The conical screen .I of a centrifugal drier is attached to a tubular shaft which, in the present instance, comprises .an upper member 2 "and a lower member 3 attached to the lower end of the "upper member 2. The structured the screen I "is connected by webs 4 with an annular member 5 attached directly to the upper end of the tubular :shaft section :2. The tubular shaft section 2 {is rotatively supported in a bearing 6, and the shaft section 3 is rotatively supported in a bearing 1, said bearings being mounted in spaced re-. lationship in a sectional housing 8.

The-distributing cone 9 is attached to the upper end of a shaft l0 rotatively supported in a bearing H mounted in the upper end of the tubular shaft section 2, and said shaft Ill extends into and is coaxial with the tubular shaft.

A vertical drive shaft I2 is journalled for rotation in bearings l3 and M, the bearing I3 being mounted in connection with the lower end wall of a housing l5 enclosing the electric motor I6 that rotates the shaft l2, and the bearing l4 being mounted in a support comprising a wall I! detachably secured in and supported by the lower end of a rigid housing l8 by removable and replaceable screws l 9. A bearing 20 is mounted on the upper end portion of the shaft l2, being supported by a sleeve 2|, said bearing 20 being located in the lower end of the tubular shaft section 3 and holding the shaft 12 coaxial with the tubular shaft 2-3 and in axial alinement with the shaft It).

A sleeve coupling 22 is attached to the upper end of the shaft l2 and telescopes on the lower end of the shaft l0, having clutching engagement therewith by ribs 23 within the sleeve coupling 22 engaging in grooves 24 in the shaft 10. The sleeve coupling 22 is freely slidable on and withdrawable from engagement with the shaft 1 I).

A circumferen'tially grooved pulley '25 is attached to the lower end of the shaft section 3 within the housing l8 and is engaged by a number of endless V-belts 26 which also engage in circumferential V-grooves in a sectional-expansible and contractible pulley 21 mounted on the shaft 28 of an electric motor 29. The diameter of the pulley 21 may be increased by moving the expanders 30 downwardly, and the diameter of the A0 pulley may be reduced by moving the expanders 30 upwardly while the pulley is operating. This is considered a suflicientdisclosure of this expander mechanism, since the specific construction thereof is not claimed in this application, but is claimed in a separate application ,Serial No. 739,237, filed August 10, 1934.

A ring 3| is rotative on the upper end of the expander device, but is incapable of longitudinal movements thereon and is operative to .move the expander device downwardly and upwardly .as required to increase or reduce the .diameter .of the pulley. The ring 3| is engaged by the inner endof a lever 32 supported on a-pivot 33aand held in its different adjusted positions by a familiar downward or open position. continuous flow of material and the machine operates as a continuous drier.

type of detent device 34 movable into and out of engagement with an arcuate ratchet 35.

It should now be apparent that, by varying the diameter of the driving pulley 21, the speed of operation of the belts 26 is varied in proportion and, as a consequence thereof, the speed of rotation of the pulley 25 is varied. Since the pulley 25 operates the screen I through the tubular shaft 23, the annular member 5 and the webs 4, the speed of rotation of said screen will likewisebe varied relative to the speed of rotation of the distributing cone 9. According to the present invention, the diameter of the driving pulley 21 may be varied while the pulley is rotating or while the pulley is static-nary, as desired.

The lower end of the space 35, which is between the screen I and the distributing cone 9, may be closed to retain the material therein during operation of the drier, so that said drier may be operated as a batch drier; or the lower end of said space may be kept open during the operation of the drier so that the drier will operate as a continuous drier.

An annular closure member 31 is supported on sleeves 38 mounted for vertical sliding movements on and along supporting and guiding rods 39 supported by the lower portion of the distributing cone 9. Springs 49 encircle the rods 39 and have their upper ends mounted in recesses M in the lower margin of the distributing cone 9. The power of these springs is utilized to push downwardly the sleeves 38 and thereby move the annular closure member 3! downwardly to the position in which said closure member is shown in dotted lines in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings. Said closure member is also movable upwardly to the position in which it is shown in solid lines and in which position the lower end of the space 36 is closed, said closure member supporting the batch of material in the drier during operation of the drier and until the closure member is released and moved downwardly by gravity and by the weight of the material thereon in cooperation with the springs lll. An annular rib '42 on theunderside of the closure member 31 operates against a roller 43 rotatively supported by a fork 44 on the upper end of the armature 45 of a solenoid magnet 46. 'When the magnet 46 is energized, the armature 45 is moved upwardly to the position shown and is supported in its upper position. The upward movement of the armature moves the closure member 31 upwardly to and supports the same in closed position so long as the solenoid magnet remains energized. The annular closure member 31 may be operated to open and to close the lower end of the space 36 while the machine is operating or while the machine is not operating, as desired. And to transform the machine from a continuous drier to a batch drier it is only necessary to adjust the mechanism to rotate the distributing cone and screen at the samev speed.

whenever the screen'I is rotated faster or at the same speed as the distributing cone 9 and, so

long as the circuit is open, the solenoid magnet 46 is deenergized and the closure plate 3'! is in its Thus, there is a The lever 32 has a contact member 48 with which one of the wires 41 is connected, the other wire 4'! being connected with a stationary contact member 49.

When the outer end of the lever 32 is in its lowermost position, which is the position it occupies when the screen I is rotated slower than the distributing cone 9, the contact members 48 and 49 are in contact, the circuit through the wires 41 is closed, the solenoid magnet 46 is energized, and the closure member 31 is moved upwardly to and is supported in closed position. When the outer end of the lever 32 is raised to cause the screen I to be rotated at the same or higher speed than the distributing cone 9, the contact member 48 is moved away from the contact member 49, the circuit through the wires 41 is thereby opened, the solenoid magnet 46 is deenergized, and the closure member 3'! is moved downwardly by cooperation of gravity, the weight of the material on said closure member and the energy of the springs 49. Thus, the machine is transformed into a batch drier automatically and as an incident to the adjustment of the mechanism for rotat-ing the screen I at slower speed than the distributing cone 9, and is converted intoa continuous drier through which the material may pass continuously automatically and as an incident to a change of the speed of rotation of the screen I higher than the speed of rotation of the distributing cone 9.

A tachometer instrument 58 is operatively connected with a worm 5| attached to the pulley 25,

and a tachometer instrument 52 is operatively and precisely the speed of rotation of the respective shafts and rotary mechanisms with which they are connected. The connections of these tachometers with the worms 5! and 53, respec tively, are conventionally illustrated since such connections are entirely familiar and do not require detailed and specific illustration.

The motor 29 is mounted on a frame 5 supported on a hinge rod 55. A shaft 56 is screwed through the frame 54 and abuts against the sta tionary housing 5? of the drier. The shaft 55 may be rotated by a hand wheel 58 or otherwise, as desired, and it is obvious that, when said shaft is screwed inwardly, the frame 54 will be pushed outwardly and the belts 26 will be tightened. And, when the shaft 56 is screwed inwardly, the

tension on the belts will be released.

The connection of the stationary parts of the wires 47 with the parts of said wires that are supported by the rotating mechanism, whereby electrical energy is continuously supplied to the magnet 46 during operation of the machine, may be maintained by any known expedient, and is conventionally illustrated at 59 in Fig. 3.

The foregoing description of the construction and arrangement of the parts included in this invention includes a sufficient description of the mode of operation thereof, making it unnecessary to repeat such operation. The invention may be varied widely in its various features without departure from the nature and principle thereof,

the same speed or at different speeds, as desired,

and means controlled by one of said mechanisms for closing said outlet at the lower end of said space.

2. In a machine of the character described, a rotary distributing cone, mechanism for rotating said cone, a screen surrounding and separated from said cone by an intervening space having a receiving opening at its upper end and a discharge opening at its lower end, mechanism apart from said first named mechanism for rotating said screen at uniform speed with said cone or at a different speed as desired, and means controlled by said mechanism for closing said outlet opening automatically and as an incident to rotation of said screen at slower speed than said cone is rotated.

3. In a machine of the character described, a rotary distributing cone, mechanism for rotating said cone, a screen surrounding and separated from said cone by an intervening space having a receiving opening at its upper end and a discharge opening at its lower end, mechanism apart from said first named mechanism for rotating said screen at uniform speed with said cone or at a different speed as desired, a device connected with and rotated by said cone and being movable to position to close said discharge opening, and means supported by said last named mechanism for moving said device to position to close said discharge opening when said screen is rotated slower than said cone.

4. In a machine of the character described, a rotary distributing cone, mechanism for rotating said cone, a screen surrounding and separated from said cone by an intervening space having a receiving opening at its upper end and an annular discharge opening at its lower end, mechanism apart from said first named mechanism for rotating said screen at uniform speed with said cone or at a different speed as desired, an annular closure member connected with said cone for movement to position to close said discharge opening, and means supported by said second mechanism for moving said member to position to close said discharge opening when said cone and said screen are rotated at the same speed and for moving said member to position to close said discharge opening when said screen is rotated at a speed slower than the speed of rotation of said cone.

5. In a machine of the character described, a rotary distributing cone, mechanism for rotating said cone, a shaft, a screen surrounding said cone and separated therefrom by an intervening space and attached to said shaft for rotation thereby, a circumferentially grooved pulley attached to said shaft, a driving pulley having circumferential grooves, belts mounted in said grooves on said pulleys for rotating said first named pulley and thereby said shaft and said screen by said second pulley, and mechanism for varying the speed of operation of said belts while said second pulley rotates at the same speed.

6. In a machine of the character described, a rotary distributing cone, mechanism for rotating said cone, a shaft, a screen surrounding said cone and separated therefrom by an intervening space and attached to said shaft for rotation thereby, a circumferentially grooved pulley attached to said shaft, a driving pulley having circumferential grooves, belts mounted in said grooves on said pulleys for rotating said first named pulley and thereby said shaft and said screen by said second pulley, mechanism for varying the speed of operation of said belts while said second pulley ANDREW F. HOWE. 

